Page 38 of Piece By Piece

The moment never came.

“Where did you work before this?” Julie asked.

She had asked before in a more general way and gotten a more general answer, but this time she wanted specifics.

Francine closed the closet door and looked at her.

“I managed the Whitfield Grand in Savannah for fourteen years.”

Julie blinked. The Whitfield Grand was one of the most respected boutique hotels in the Southeast. She’d seen it in magazines.

“So why did you leave?”

Francine’s expression softened, not into sadness, but something a little more honest.

“Well, I was good at taking care of everyone else, but I forgot to take care of myself. I worked through my divorce, two surgeries, and the death of my best friend without ever taking a single day off. And one morning I woke up and realized I didn’t know who I was when I left that building.” She looked at Julie. “Sound familiar?”

Julie didn’t respond, but she heard it.

She heard it in the way that you hear something you’ve been thinking about, but you aren’t brave enough to say out loud.

Francine touched her arm as she passed.

“The inn will survive without you for an afternoon, Julie. The question is really more about whether you’ll survive without it.”

The power finally came back on at 11:14.

The overhead lights snapped on all at once, sudden and harsh after hours of soft candlelight.

Liza winced and covered her eyes.

Grant reached over and turned off the nearest lamp.

“Better,” she said.

“Yeah.”

They were still sitting on the floor, side by side, with their backs against the bookshelf.

At some point during the storm, and she couldn’t say when, they had shifted closer. Her shoulder was now touching his.

His hand was resting on the floor between them, close enough to hers that she could feel the warmth of it without touching.

The rain had now softened, and the worst of the storm had passed, leaving behind that clean, electric smell.

“I should probably go,” Grant said, although he didn’t move.

“Yeah, probably,” she said.

She didn’t move either.

They sat there for another long minute, listening to the rain as the world came back to itself.

The candles were still burning. The soup containers were long since empty, and the clue cards were spread across the floor, forgotten by both of them hours ago.

He stood up first and offered his hand.

She took it, his grip warm and steady as he pulled her to her feet.